Who's to Blame for Revy Avlanche?

[~Rowdy~]

Good Question.

Can you really blame anyone for something like this? I don't believe so. O-Zone is in no way shape or form responsible for this. People who are pointing the finger at him should look at their hand and see the 4 pointing right back at them.

People need to take personal accountability for their actions. If you decide to do anything in life you take certain risks. You need to arm yourself with as much information and knowledge about something you are interested in doing as possible.

For snowmobiling get avalanche training, ridewith experienced riders, test beacons at the beginning of the day, look at the forecast, stay away from an area that is dangerous or if you decide to try to high mark something ensure the others in your group are out of the run off and on a high ground.

Whether or not this event was canceled people were going to be there and someone would have been caught in the avalanche. It was just unfortunate that it was the same weekend which did draw more riders to specific area's.

The avalanche happened, and many more will in the future. Let's look at what happened, learn from it and move on. Blaming, being angry are all useless.

Let's band together as a community and arm ourselves with what we need, education on the sport we all love.

 

[Arctic Thunder]

I haven't made a single post on the Revy Avy subject until now.

First
I feel great sorrow for those that lost their lives in this accident.

Second
Bigbull, great article by your friend Susie Rainsberry! Well said.

Third
I know a lot of people have been to Turbo. I have sat in the exact location that these rider were numerous times. (Granted the conditions were a bit different but still). You can't see the hill unless you are riding Turtle with a great set of binoculars or sitting in the run-out zone. Also there is a very slight level spot and even slight uphill before it drops over into the canyon. I looked at the trees just north of the staging area and they didn't have the tail-tail avalanche signs. The tops weren't snapped off or all the limbs ripped off. Really minimal indication that you were in a "bad" spot. So it is easy to feel comfortable in this location.

Fourth and final thing
What a tragedy. No blame on anyone. Nothing but thanks to the level heads and great people on the mountain that day. You guys are the real heroes. My hats off to all of you.

Ride hard, Ride smart, Learn from other experiences both good and bad.

Thunder

 

[columbus]

I haven't made a single post on the Revy Avy subject until now.

First
I feel great sorrow for those that lost their lives in this accident.

Second
Bigbull, great article by your friend Susie Rainsberry! Well said.

Third
I know a lot of people have been to Turbo. I have sat in the exact location that these rider were numerous times. (Granted the conditions were a bit different but still). You can't see the hill unless you are riding Turtle with a great set of binoculars or sitting in the run-out zone. Also there is a very slight level spot and even slight uphill before it drops over into the canyon. I looked at the trees just north of the staging area and they didn't have the tail-tail avalanche signs. The tops weren't snapped off or all the limbs ripped off. Really minimal indication that you were in a "bad" spot. So it is easy to feel comfortable in this location.

Fourth and final thing
What a tragedy. No blame on anyone. Nothing but thanks to the level heads and great people on the mountain that day. You guys are the real heroes. My hats off to all of you.

Ride hard, Ride smart, Learn from other experiences both good and bad.

Thunder

Except for the fact that there are no trees in an area under a large hill, especially when there are trees all around??!!

 

[EagleRiverDee]

IMO- Sledding is a sport with inherent risk. Back Country travel- of any type- has inherent risk. Sledders take those risks on knowingly every time they get on the sled- same as they accept the risks of falling through the ice when they run rivers or lakes, risk head injury if they ride without a helmet, etc.

I do not feel anyone is to blame. The avy conditions in BC- and Revelstoke- were well broadcast for at least a week prior to the avy. We had been out sledding the day of the avy and when we got home my fiance told me that a major avy had occurred in BC, killing 2 and wounding many. I asked, immediately, "Revelstoke?" I live in Alaska. I knew about the risk in Revy from the constant chatter about it on the forums, so you can pretty much safely assume the people who were there also knew. It was their choice, and each individual who opted to be there felt that the risk was worth it and willingly made the choice to take the risk. I'm not minimizing the tragic nature of the deaths of the two sledders, but I do believe they knew and accepted the risks.

We should learn from it, but we shouldn't blame anyone for it.

 

[imdoo'n]

Avalanches cannot be prevented.
Being IN one can be prevented.

this may be the best thing you have stated so far, Scott, the rest i could do without.

 

[lugnut]

200 people at the bottom are responsible.

Including me.

If we all rode tundra's and did not hillclimb,we still would not eat lunch in a bad spot.

Parking in a smart location is the first priority, before any hillclimbing is even considered.

We ,I, gotta look out for each other.

 

[skibreeze]

So, I wonder how many people were at the bottom just to watch the potential carnage. Try 100%, let's face it, alot of people were waiting for sled carnage or to actually see somebody do something stupid, not realizing that people could actually die. This w/e we sat in a meadow as another group came by and we sat and watched this flat lander climb a steep sunbaked hill. We watched as he started sliding backwards and barely trenched it in. Who knows how long it took him to get down. My point is, even if most people knew the avy danger was extreme, they might as well be there to see the carnage. I guess that's the same reason why everybody slows down to rubberneck the wrecks on the side of the road.

 

[EZmoney]

This is a very unfortunate situation for the ones that where lost and their family's and friends.I do truly feel terrible for each and every one of you.The situation as bad as it was could have been alot worse if the riders on the hill never reacted the way they did to save one another by taking control of the situation.The "who is to blame" now is near disturbing for me.Why does it always come to this?"Well its some ones fault" Not always.. There where no bleachers set up. Was there? The trail was not ribboned off straight to turbo after race hill was it? Was there some big climbs or races going to start at a set time at turbo that day with a schedule of events? Some folks went to the bull pen after race hill some to the air port and some to turbo,and some home. People just went where ever they felt like and when they felt,they where riding.They choose to park where they did and to tell you the truth, i too would have felt safe in the same spot viewing and bsing among friends.I would never think that hill would slide to that extreme as far as it did to hit the spectators.So "who is to blame"? People made their own choices the avalanche risk where there, the risks where not down played by Ozone.I do not think this is his fault and dont see the need for people to stake blame.People need to take account for their own actions in life..

 

[hatchers]

Blow me idiot,its a unsanctined event, ride at your own risk like it says at the bottom of the mountian.. *******s like u are why we cant do anything without the chance of being sued. jason

you must be new here, OT has been stalking this topic and members well before i knew what a sled was...talking to him is like nailing jello to a tree, sure it can be done, but when done and you set back and take a look around......well, all you have is jello on a tree, seems pointless

here is a pic of the great "OT"....peep that sweet camo gear and what looks to be 7 tec vests under his coat, got safety?

 

[teamti]

200 people at the bottom are responsible.

Including me.

If we all rode tundra's and did not hillclimb,we still would not eat lunch in a bad spot.

Parking in a smart location is the first priority, before any hillclimbing is even considered.

We ,I, gotta look out for each other.

Props to you. You made a bad choice. It didn't kill you. But you're learning from it. Backcountryislife is right - assigning blame won't help much.

Identifying mistakes made & learning from those mistakes - that will help

 

[harper]

I read once a great line that describes sledding, something like this;

"It is important to keep in mind that snowmobiles are capable of reaching high speeds in inherently dangerous conditions. No matter how much your vehicle is tailored to handle snow and ice, these surfaces are almost always more problematic than grass or pavement"

Inherently dangerous sport is the line that makes the most sense to me.

No one is too blame for this tragedy, we all must assume the risk of riding sleds and what can happen while doing so, on the flats or the hills.

the sleds today can get us into areas that 10 years ago we could only see from afar.

my 2 cents.

 

[Scott]

Avalanches cannot be prevented.
Being IN one can be prevented.

this may be the best thing you have stated so far, Scott, the rest i could do without.

Is that good or bad?

 

[mod03rmk800]

Very sad situation for sure. Only blame imo, is to blame the lack of knowledge and lack of judgment by all involved. Believe me when I say I am not judging as I have absolutely "broken" the "rules" time and again whether it may be "getting lost in the moment" and forgetting or knowing well that I was in a sketchy situation and continued. I have counted my blessings after the realization of the situation after the fact. I see this same situation(smaller scale) every year multiple times in very rugged and avy prone areas. I have been to the free avy class held here in missoula the past three years and there have never been more than 10 riders there. We account for three seats of those people so that leaves a whole lot of people locally that possibly have know true understanding of what the dangers of back country riding holds. These kind of riding areas may see hundreds of sleds daily but they are still avy prone back country areas that need absolute respect. I hope that with this terrible accident comes a widespread communication with all users of back country users and the importance of avy/first aid knowledge required to minimize the dangers inherent to this sport that we love and other users and there love of the beauty of what is out there. I also would like to express of how proud I am of the ones that came to the aid of the needy and hearing of the proper equipment which people may not even had the knowledge of operation but had anyway which saved lives and opened the door for whatever possible help was given to the ones lost.

 

[chub1967]

After reading all

Everybody seems to agree(other then QT) but he doesn't matter, I think it wouldn't have mattered if the event was cancel there would have been close to the same amount of people there just in smaller groups which might have ended up in even more tragic because the secound group wouldn't have been there to help dig out the first. Also on Saturday at the superbowl BIS drags I spoke to numerous people that didn't even know the event was happening they were just up the to ride.
This was a horrible act of nature that will effect all us sledders for years to come and as for the BIS we won't have to worry about it anymore because we all just witnessed it's last year. Shame on us!

 

[mramerica]

I believe the legal term is act of god. It is no ones fault, we can be thankful, that enough people there seemed to know what to do in this situation, and how to help others out, I am sorry to hear of the two that lost their lives, but happy there was no more. RIP. Someday, I hope to get out your way, and try mountain riding. JT

 

[allmotor]

found this

I, along with Browning Crew rode with Mike & Shay & their crew on Friday & Saturday. When we rode saturday in the sugar bowl & bull pen the snow was sliding in both areas...so i know that everyone knew that the avalanche danger was high. When we made it over to Turbo, Shay went up & got stuck & then I went up after him & made it to the top, I looped around & parked on the top & asked him if he needed help. He said he needed someone to hold the end of his sled so that he could pull the front of his sled around. He was to the far right & i was to the far left. So I started my sled & pulled closer to him. I jumped off of my sled & started walking down to him. I took about 10 ten steps away from my sled & realized that it would be to hard to climb back up to my sled. So I told him that i was gonna get back on my sled & drive down by him to help him. I started walking back up to my sled & i heard another sled coming. I stop & looked back for the sled...the sled come right behind him & turned to the right of him, & then out & over the top. As the rider reached the top the snow broke. When the snow broke i looked down @ Shay & could tell that he realized that the snow broke and he just kept looking @ it coming down at him...then he was gone. There were 3 or 4 riders sitting at the top of the mountain. One of the riders asked me if my friend was o.k. & i told him no that the avalanche took him. About that time the other rider that went to the right of him & to the top pulled next to the riders...the guy that asked me if my friend was ok asked the other rider why he went over the top of Shay. The rider replied that he didn't know there was a rider there. I believe that the rider was telling the truth when he said that he didn't see him. We all knew that the avalanche danger was high that day & could of accured at any time that day. As went back down the mountain there was total chaos. My hat goes off to everyone there that help rescue people. The people were very well prepared. They had beacons and probes and the knowledge to help in diaster like this one. I didn't know Curtis as well as Shay. But everytime I went to BC I rode with Shay & Mike. All the comments that are posted on here...positive or negative...will not help the families & friends of them feel any better about their loss. I arrived home on Sunday & hugged my wife and kids as I walked in the door & that is when I realized that Shay or Curtis would never be able to do the samething. Words can't decribe the sympathy I have for the families of Shay & Curtis. My heart goes out to them. In the end I feel this was very tragic accident...we all know the risk of riding in the back country...high avalanche danger or not...I don't think anyone is to blame.

Mike Augare>>

 

[polemite.productions]

one of my riding partners is from south africa. one day he brought up a cousin of his that was visiting from SA. this guy had never seen snow, let alone rip around in the alpine on a sled. he was having the time of his life. while we were stopped for lunch, my buddies cousin was filling him in on some news about some old friends of theirs that had been attacked by sharks while surfing. my reaction at the time was, "holy crap why in hell do you guys go surfing in shark infested waters!?". they just kinda shrugged their shoulders and there was about 5 seconds of silence. but in that time, i realized something and said, "well, i guess i could ask the same question about us and why we venture out into the backcountry when there are possible risks of avalanches and such".

my buddy replied, "that is exactly what it is like. there is always that chance, but it doesn't happen that often, and if you are educated and play it safe, you will most always be fine."

sports like these are about personal acceptable risk tolerance. if people are educated and prepared, who can blame anyone for exercising their freedom of choice?

 

[Menace1]

Organizers for not having the balls to cancel the event.....The organizers didn't even have the guts to hire a crew to do avy control on the slopes to at least minimize the possibily of an avy to occure.

Do you think Mike Wieglie Heli Ski Operations doesn't bomb the slopes around revy every morning to minimize the risk ?

There is just no excuse for there actions.

OT

Holy crap your negative!!! Your going to be the death of us all, you dont want to ride anymore, its "YOUR " decision, but dont ruin it for the rest of us!! Its terrible what happened but your not making it better for anyone! You seem like you always need someone to blame for everything. Personnally I would take full responsibility for my own action if something ever happened while I was out sledding.

 

[allmotor]

It is sad that this tragic ACCIDENT happened. But it has and we all have to learn to carry on. Blame who??????????????????? It was going to happen at sometime between when the snow fell thursday night and a week from now or 2 weeks but it was GOING to happen.
Yes the experienced people should of looked at the slope a little harder and yes the people out there with LITTLE experience should not of been there or brought there by their friends. I did not go back to turbo until almost a yrs worth of MOUNTAIN riding under my belt. And my buddy that i sled with said he would not take me back there until i had more experience and knowledge. Wow i sure thank him now after being there on saturday.
I have put 2600 miles on my sled in boulder in 2 years. I have been to other places but i feel so much safer at boulder even with what happened on saturday. i hope everyone else feels the same and starts to tell others and show others how safe it is. Lets have a media riding day to show them the positive side and the scenery you can see on a nice blue day.I would volunteer up for that day.Maybe someone out in revelstoke could arrange for this to happen. I believe most people on this site that ride in revy would be up for this. Then they can decide for themselves before they call the pot black.
The tragic ACCIDENT at turbo was not part of the BIS and hopefully someone actually in revelstoke stands up for this sport and tells the media and RCMP this. The only thing for saturday was sugar bowl , super bowl and the bull pen. This has been told on here a numerous times maybe its time the rest of the media world finds this out.
Its time for us to take responsibility for what we do ourselves.And admit our own mistakes. I and my buddy ventured too far off on friday into the trees and got stuck to far back and was getting dark. We tried to find a quicker way back to trail and i and my sled fell into a 15 foot crevis nose first and he got his sled burried. We had to walk out to trail in waist to chest deep powder uphill. It took us 5 hrs to get back to the trail . We could hear the groomer and followed the noise and popped out onto the trail about a minute before the groomer come around the corner. He was a lifesaver and drove us to the bottom to where our truck was and told us that SAR was just about to head out to look for us.They were in parking lot getting ready to come up and start looking. Whose fault is this o-zones? I don't think so. I was up there for the BIS why would it not be his fault? It was totally 100% my fault for going off the trail that far at the end of the day. I even told charlie the groomer guy it was my fault and accept all resposibility for it. If i was sent a bill from SAR for it i would deserve it. Did i learn from this? YES i did. I will never go off like that at the end of the day.Especially when its going to be dark soon. I think we all learn from our mistakes but we have to admit to them before we really do learn. I want to thank charlie ,cathy and the rest of the guys that that had been on the outlook for us.
So lets all stand up and learn from this and not point the finger at anyone else except ourselves. What happened was not o-zones fault.And make sure all involved here points this out to the public and everyone else.
Thankyou, Paul AKA " Bullwinkle"

 

[Red Dog]

I've read all and this young man Polemite Productions respones nailed it. From an old surfer from the islands, Cheers my Friend Red Dog.